Jem Roberts - The Fully Authorised History of Im Sorry I Havent a Clue: the Clue Bible from Footlights to Mornington Crescent

Contents

Two radio classics, Im Sorry Ill Read That Again and Im Sorry I Havent A Clue, form a body of work stretching across five decades, from Cambridge in 1960 to todays world-beating Antidote to Panel Games, a laughter-bringer which has inspired unparalleled adoration in millions over fiftytwo series and counting.

The Clue Bible tells the whole story, from Footlights to Broadway to the ferret-filled madness of Radio Prune comedys answer to the rock and roll revolution of the Sixties. Offering a complete guide to the comedy world that brought us Mornington Crescent, the Bible takes the story right up to the present day, celebrating the lives of Willie Rushton, Sir David Hatch and, of course, the irreplaceable Humphrey Lyttelton. With exclusive input from the Teams, plus Bill Oddie, Stephen Fry and many more, this is the long-overdue, authoritative, entertaining and above all very silly lasting celebration of an unsung comic legacy.

Jem Robers was bom in Ludlow in the summer of 1978, just as the first ever round of Mornington Crescent was being played on Clue. He began writing for games magazines at a laughably young age, and his work on comedy fanzines Kettering and Publish & Bedazzled have led to this, his first work of comedy history. Jem lives in Bath where he is the Daddy of local comedy troupe The Unrelated Family. He plays the ukulele very badly.

For:

Peter

Willie

Linda

Geoffrey

David

and Humph

THIS BOOK WASNT supposed to be like this. In the wake of the mirth-shattering loss of Humph, anyone spotting this Bible on the bookshelves would be forgiven for sniffing the aroma of cash-in, but its been a long time since this project began, as a light-hearted celebration of the nations favourite ongoing comedy phenomenon. And now here we are.

Like so many comedy stories, it all begins with Peter Cook. Rediscovering his genius as an adult, it became a source of great pleasure for me to get a regular gig writing about his work for the Official Peter Cook Appreciation Society fagazine, Publish & Bedazzled. When that folded in favour of Kettering: The Magazine of Elderly British Comedy, I was given carte blanche to write about any old show that took my fancy and there was only one (or rather two) I could possibly envisage investigating, my favourite radio creation since discovering the tapes at the age of twelve Im Sorry Ill Read That Again and, of course, Clue. So initial thanks must go to Peter Gordon and the whole Kettering mob for providing the first impetus; plus Joe Champniss for his original illustrations. However, in terms of importance and support, I must primarily thank the Teams themselves. When Clue came to Bristol in 2006, the joyous occasion inspired me to write first about the Antidote to Panel Games, and so began a long period of shivering around stage doors, daring to approach Graeme, Tim, Barry, Colin, Jon, Samantha and Humph. Of course, they were, and have remained, wonderful patrons, amiably handling endless missives, with Jon kindly liaising with Iain and being on hand for advice at all turns.

For the original two articles, I managed to get hold of Graeme and Tim via email only at first, but Barry being e-sceptic gave me plenty of phone time. Similarly, it was a joy to have a long chat with Sir David Hatch about the old days, and between them all, I put together pieces which elicited surprisingly glowing feedback from all quarters. A random call from Barry was a nice added extra, saying how much he enjoyed my Clue article, and it was with that chat that the idea of extending the Kettering pieces to a full-blown book first took root. Keeping to a strict word count had been so difficult, and the injustice of the way that Radio Prune had become nothing but a footnote in the Monty Python story was reason enough to celebrate it, loud and clear. To that end, I contacted Sir David and was delighted to receive my very own Hatchlet in reply Dear Jem, Thanks for a sight of the article I enjoyed it. Im happy to waffle about the old days anytime, you only have to ask. Ill Read That Again book sounds very possible... A lot lot more about me next time and Ill enjoy it even more! The pleasure of receiving this message was still keenly felt and the opening words of this book remained to be written when word came through that he had died.

Agonising reappraisal number one. Could the book go on? Id had a long chat with Hatch for the article, but we had a lot to cover in the planned chats later in the year. Ultimately his loss made the need to preach about the importance of ISIRTA all the more crucial, so the book would now be a tribute to the greatest champion of BBC Radio there had ever been. And so work progressed... Humphrey Barclay gave many hours of memories, and some of the greatest images contained herein. Jo Kendall explained to me over a few phone calls that her past was a closed book, that she was happy to chat, but not to be quoted. Her friend, Barclays ex-secretary Liz Lord, was more comfortable with nostalgia however, and the interviews continued including the real coup, a whole hour with Stephen Fry, set up by his kind sister and PA, Jo Crocker. Thanks to her, the fact that a man as busy as Fry had taken part gave this book the real stamp of authority.

Not that even Frys support gave me much hope of getting sight of the lesser-spotted Bill Oddie, and anyone who heard that I planned to interview him gazed at me with astonishment and not a little pity, knowing that he views comedy anoraks with disdain. Ultimately, after a false start and a little pleading via the wonderful Laura Beaumont, I was invited to Oddie Towers for the afternoon where he made tea and happily humoured me until it was pitch black outside, an honour and a pleasure I will always remember. Further chats with Simon Brett, John Lloyd and the late great Geoffrey Perkins were further honours; Toby Rushton offered his aid, and representing the Clue guests (despite all of them being preternaturally busy), Tony Hawks, Jeremy Hardy and Rob Brydon kindly found the time, and Neil Innes and Phill Jupitus were close calls. All of the main Clue gang were constant sources of support of course, both in sharing memories and inviting me behind the scenes of the Hammersmith show but having Humph on board was the dream. A friendly chat at the stage door didnt seem to pique the great mans interest, surrounded as he was with adoring fans, but at the very least, his blessing was crucial.

And so the phone call that came one afternoon while busy at the office was quite a shock. Humph was full of apologies, working through his backlog what was this book all about then? There was some quiet rumination on the end of the line as I ran through the pitch once again, but when the Bible concept was explained, Humphs giggle became contagious. Of course hed be delighted to be interviewed, and indeed hed happily sit down when he could and write the foreword. My colleagues had no idea why I was jumping up and down at my desk, but I didnt care the last part of the puzzle was in place!

Agonising reappraisal number two should need no explanation. Besides our chats, my proper interview with the Chairman had not taken place, to my eternal regret but such concerns meant nothing compared to the pain of his loss, and the question mark now hanging over my favourite comedy show. Having finalised the books publication with Trevor Dolby, the official